When East meets West: the Symphony Orchestra of India in London Town

Alpesh Chauhan conducts the Symphony Orchestra of India

Zakir Hussain, Niladri Kumar and Rakesh Chaurasia

By Alexander Hall, 01 December 2023

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“a raw-knuckle rusticity, a peasant-like earthiness, which defined much of the narrative flow”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 30 November 2023

Strauss R., Der Rosenkavalier, Op.59: Suite

Hussain, Triple Concerto

Stravinsky, Petrushka

Alpesh Chauhan, Conductor

Zakir Hussain, Tabla

Niladri Kumar, Sitar

Rakesh Chaurasia, Bansuri

Symphony Orchestra of India

From Evil Empire to Grail Fellowship: The Symphony Orchestra of India

Roy Westbrook, 8th December

Richard Farnes conducts Andrew Gourlay's symphonic suite drawn from Wagner's Parsifal as the Symphony Orchestra of India returns to Cadogan Hall.

****1

Safety first: the Symphony Orchestra of India makes its London debut

Mark Pullinger, 20th February

An evening of different musical flavours, but none, as yet, are quite distinctive on the palate.

***11

L'Inde au Victoria Hall : le tabla de Zakir Hussain aux honneurs.

Thomas Muller, 21st January

L'Orchestre Symphonique d'Inde et Zakir Hussain ont donné au Victoria Hall un moment de rêverie orientale totalement envoûtant... Chapeau bas à cet ensemble si neuf et qui a prouvé un sens de la cohésion et de la musicalité qui n'a rien à envier aux ensembles européens.

****1

Nico Muhly’s vision of the end of the world comes to Sheffield

Phil Parker, 15th March

Doom – both personal and cosmic – and its aftermath are the focus of Alpesh Chauhan’s Hallé concert at Sheffield’s City Hall.

****1

Simone Lamsma dazzles in Britten with the Liverpool Phil

Leighton Jones, 2nd October

In a programme very much rooted in the spirit dance, Britten’s Violin Concerto shines through in Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall.

****1

Symphonic landscapes: Chauhan and the CBSO connect Beethoven to Mahler

Simon Cummings, 6th March

Two very different natural worlds are connected in a compelling performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, featuring Karen Cargill and Brenden Gunnell.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.